Transmission Stuck In Gear problems of the 2004 Volkswagen New Beetle Convertible

I own a 04 beetle conv. And at around 78,000 miles the transmission started acting sluggish and would make a loud popping sound as it shifted into gear and jolted u forward, now it is at around 81,000 and will only shift through first and second gears safely. When it hits 35mph the rpm's raise rapidly and the car will eventually come to rest at 25 mph and go no faster. If I slam on the breaks it gets stuck in 3rd gear and will only be able to reach 50 mph max at 5,500 rpm's. . I have contacted vw and they just tell me that a my only option is to replace this transmission at a cost of 5,813. 00+labor or trade it in for a value somewhere around 1,500. 00 and refuse to do anything further. This seems to be a common problem between beetles, jettas, golfs, and gti's. With car transmissions completely going out or acting like this on the road, im a little confused as to why vw has not been forced to deal with this and why a recall has not been issued?.

Problem with transmission, gear stuck in low.

Problems with transmission/shifting problems. Everytime the car shifts into a gear, its very rough and infact will jerk very hard. This started every once in a while and began happening more regular as a month or so went on. Now it will stick in 3rd gear and just stay there. We can stop at a redlight, and it will remain in 3rd gear, then drive from the redlight with the car starting in 3rd gear! this is a safety issue, because the car will stick when shifting almost everytime and you could push the gas but only the rpms will go up. . Nothing else. This could cause me to be rear ended or hit from the side when turning left. I have had many close calls due to this issue! I have children, and the car is not safe to drive anymore. I have priced what would fix this, and its not only that I can not afford it, but the solution to the problem is only temporary! I have seen many, many people have the same issues with the same car, and they have spent countless dollars on a problem that still persists. This past Saturday my family was driving and the car stuck in gear going 45 mph, which caused the car to descend in speed, giving the people behind us hardly no time to realize what was happening. We were very very close to an accident. To add to this problem I have had an airbag sensor come on the dash about 2 months ago and will not go off. I had this looked at because it was a safety recall, but the vw dealer told me that my car was no one of the vins, but looked as if it had the same problem! this is serious! they said they could fix it, for a very high amount, but if it was defective that I could be bringing it back in for repair! this is not acceptable!!! we are talking about life or death in a crash!.